When Anya Kopchinsky visited Bridgeport Animal Control shelter in Connecticut, she met Walrus — a tiny, small-framed pit bull with wide eyes and the biggest smile.

“I saw him and couldn’t resist,” Kopchinsky, cofounder of Pit Stop, an organization that rescues pit bulls and other dogs, told The Dodo. “He gave me the cutest eyes and he was hugging his tail, but you could tell that he was terrified.”

The shelter staff didn’t know much about Walrus except that he’d been brought in as a stray. But Walrus’ body told a sad story of neglect and possible abuse.

Walrus had gaps between his teeth, which made Kopchinsky suspect that he’d lived in a cage and had been chewing on bars. He also had a lot of scarring on his body, possibly from lying on pavement or another hard surface.

Walrus also has congenital defects that make his legs splay out in funny ways — and years of neglect wouldn’t have helped the condition.

“It’s almost like he doesn’t have an ankle,” Kopchinsky said. “It just kind of rolls over all the way to the right. And on the other leg he’s got hyperextension, so he sort of walks on the whole leg instead of just the paws.”

“Whatever he’s gone through in his past doesn’t really affect him now,” Kopchinsky said. “He’s so happy around people, and he’s a total Velcro dog. He follows you everywhere, and he really wants to cuddle, and everyone is his new best friend.”